Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to protective garments that are lightweight, having improved comfort, flexibility and pliability, and are cut and/or abrasion resistant, particularly suitable for use as hosiery products such as pantyhose and tights, or for protective coverings for the limbs of the wearer.
Discussion of the Background
In many activities, it is desirable to provide protective garments, including undergarments, to protect participants from being cut. Ideally, such garments should be flexible, pliable, soft and cut/abrasion resistant. For activities in the sporting arena, the garments also need to be light weight, and preferably breathable and/or wicking to allow the removal and evaporation of perspiration from the athlete. Typically, any improvement in the cut and/or abrasion resistance has usually been at the sacrifice of the other properties. Protective garments have been made cut resistant in the past through the use of yarns which contain wire, fiberglass and high denier high performance yarns such as aramids. However, the use of wire is problematic in environments where a protective garment must not be electrically or thermally conductive. Moreover, experience has shown that the wire may break and injure the hand of the wearer. Lastly, articles or garments having a high wire content may be difficult and/or expensive to clean using conventional cleaning techniques. Further, the use of fiberglass can create significant problems with comfort, particularly in a light weight construction undergarment, as the glass fibers tend to cause significant skin irritation. Anyone that has worked with installing fiberglass batting as insulation can attest to this. The use of high denier high performance yarns such as aramids is problematic in causing the yarn and resultant garment to be too bulky for use, particularly in sporting applications.
In response to these problems, non-metallic cut-resistant yarns have been developed. These yarns have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,177,948 and 5,845,476 to Kolmes et al. which are owned by the assignee of the present invention. The contents of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. Kolmes '948 describes a yarn having substantially parallel core strands which may include fiberglass. Kolmes '476 describes other non-metal containing yarn constructions which contain fiberglass as a core yarn. However, these yarns are typically too bulky in denier to be used in undergarments, hosiery or other intimate apparel.
There remains a need for a cut and/or abrasion-resistant garment that is lightweight and suitable for use as hosiery, or other undergarment types having improved flexibility and softness.